Slide fastener type sheath for conductors



Sept. 26,1967 PER-OLOV HAVRSE I 3,

SLIDE FASTENER TYPE SHEATH FOR CONDUCTORS Filed July 8, 1965 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

PER-OLOV HARSE AGEN Sept. 26, 1967 PER-OLOV HARSE 3,344,226

SLIDE FASTENER TYPE SHEATH FOR CONDUCTORS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 8, 1965 ll ll l jkl l lllll IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

'IIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR. PER-OLOV HARSE United States Patent 3,344,226 SLIDE FASTENER TYPE SHEATH FOR CONDUCTORS Per-010v Harse, Arhoga, Sweden, assignor to North American Philips Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 8, 1965, Ser. No. 479,551 1 Claim. (Cl. 174-70) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sheath assembly for a recorder/reproducer having an envelope which surrounds the conductors interconnecting the microphone and the switch housing to the recorder/reproducer, and a movable slider surrounding the envelope and engaging one of the conductors. Movement of the slider opens and closes the envelope and also extracts or inserts one of the conductors.

The invention relates to a magnetic recorder/reproducer having a microphone housing provided with a detachable switch housing.

Such a device is known from copending application Ser. No. 430,404, now Patent No. 3,258,544, filed Feb. 4, 1965 in the name of J. De Hann. This known recorder is provided with a microphone comprising a switch which operates the recorder. The switch is located in a separable housing member mechanically coupled with the microphone housing. Thus, it is possible to provide the switch at an inconspicuous place, while the microphone is positioned in front of the speaker or on a lecture desk. Both the switch and the microphone are connected with the recorder by means of an electrical conductor. However, this known arrangement creates a non-aesthetic appearance, and additionally permits the conductors to become entangled.

In order to mitigate these disadvantages, a sheath assembly having an envelope for the conductors, which 18 slit throughout its length, is provided with one or more displaceable sliders arranged along the slit of the envelope for withdrawing or inserting the conductors.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a known arrangement consisting of a tape-recorder, a microphone and a switch detachable therefrom,

FIG. 2 shows such an arrangement improved in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of an envelope and slider according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is an end view of the envelope and slider, according to FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section view of a modification according to the invention, and

FIG. 6 is a view taken on line VIVI of FIG. 5.

FIG. 1 shows a known dictation apparatus 1 connected by means of an electrical conductor 5 with a microphone 2. A readily detachable switch member 3 is connected to the apparatus 1 by means of an electrical conductor 4. The same basic arrangement is shown in FIG. 2, however an envelope 6 surrounds the conductors leading to the microphone 2 and the switch 3 up to the point where the slider 7 is located. The location of the slider 7 is dependent upon the desired position of both the microphone 2 and the switch 3.

FIG. 3 shows on an enlarged scale a conventional plastic-insulated double cord conductor in which an envelope 6 of elastic material surrounds two electrical conductors 4 and 5. The conductors 4 and 5 are insutit) 3,344,226 Patented Sept. 26, 1967 lated with respect to each other. As seen in FIG. 4 the envelope 6 and the slider 9 are slightly oval in form, however, they may also have other shapes. The sheath 6 is slit from the outer side adjacent the conductor 4. The slit is normally closed by the elasticity of the envelope material. The mass of synthetic substance between the two conductors 4 and 5 may also be cut. The conductor 4 may be secured in a suitable manner in the envelope 6, for example, it may be embedded in the envelope, or the insulation of conductor 5 may be integral with the material of the envelope 6. The envelope 6 is surrounded by the slider 9 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

This slider substantially surrounds the whole envelope edges of the slit 8 are in contact with each other through-- out their lengths or are in comparatively close proximity with each other, except for a small area to the right of the slider 9 which is separated by the wedge portion 11.

If, for example, the slider 9 is displaced to the lefthand side in FIG. 3, the wedge 11 and the conductor 4 together open the slit or gap 8. During this displacement of the slider an increasing length of the conductor 4 emerges from the envelope 6 through the aperture 10. When displacing the slider to the lefthand side, the envelope 6 is gradually closed on the righthand side of the slider so that the envelope is closed or substantially closed on either side of the slider. The ends of the conductors 4 and 5 to the righthand side of the slider 9, FIG. 3, may each be provided in known manner with a plug or other electrical connecting member.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an envelope 6 according to the invention which is also slit throughout its length. A flexible envelope 6 is slit at 8 in its longitudinal direction and surrounds a plurality of conductors 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Contrary to a conventional slide fastener, the slider 9 is provided with two wedges 16 and 17 remote from each other so that, for example, during a displacement of the slider 9 to the lefthand side in FIGS. 5 and 6, the slit edges of the envelope are separated by means of the wedge 16 and are re-joined by means of the wedge 17'; the envelope remaining locked on either side of the slider 9.

The slider is provided with a side aperture 10 through which the conductor 12 extends from the envelope 6 to the outside. The slider 9 is preferably provided with a sleeve 18 which surrounds the envelope 6. The slider sleeve may be provided with draw-eyes (not shown) or with finger grips constituted by ribs 19 in order to facilitate a smooth and undisturbed displacement of the slider along the cable.

In the two embodiments described hereinbefore and also in other variants thereof, the slider may be constructed so that it is capable of branching off a plurality of conductors (not shown). Such conductors need not come out of the slider in the same direction. Besides the aperture 10 which extends obliquely upwards and outwards to the righthand side of FIGS. 3 to 5, the slider may include an aperture parallel thereto which extends obliquely upwards and outwards in the lefthand direction in FIGS. 3 and 5 and which accommodates a conductor other than the conductors 4 and 12 respectively. During a displacement of the slider, the length released from the envelope increases according as the released length of said other conductor decreases, and conversely.

The same cable sheath may even be provided with several sliders and consequently with several separately displaceable conductors.

The slider preferably consists of plastic material or of metal. If desired, it may be separable in its longitudinal direction, for example, by means of a longitudinal cut 9a, FIG. 4, so that it can be removed from the cable sheath without drawing it across one of the two cable ends. Such a separability is often desirable in order to render it possible, if required, to replace an unserviceable slider or a slider which must be exchanged for a slider of another construction (for example for a greater number of branched-off conductors than before) without it being necessary for the connections of the cable to be detached at one end of the cable.

If the slider has the shape of a slide for zipper type fasteners, it is not necessary for the slider to be constructed so that the gap edges join each other both before and behind the slider, as is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Also, the slider may be constructed in a known manner so that the gap edges 8 are closed only on one side, for example, so that the envelope 6 shown in FIG. 5 is closed only on the lefthand side of the slider and is not closed on the righthand side thereof. The slider may be provided with several apertures 10 in tandem or radially spaced in the circumferential direction. The slider may be provided with a friction or fixing member by means of which it is fixed with respect to the envelope 6 or with respect to the released conductor.

What is claimed is:

A sheath assembly for conductors in combination with 30 a recorder/reproducer having a microphone and a switch housing comprising a plurality of conductors, one of said conductors being connected to said microphone and another of said conductors being connected to said switch housing; a resilient envelope surrounding said conductors and having a slit therethrough extending substantially the entire length of said envelope and being aligned with said conductors; and a slider surrounding said envelope, said slider comprising a sleeve having an aperture therethrough, said aperture being aligned with said slit and having at least one of said conductors passing therethrough, and a pair ofaxially aligned Wedge portions connected to the internal surface of said sleeve, each of said wedge portions extending through said slit into the interior of said envelope, wherein axial movernent of said slider in one direction separates the walls of said envelope defining said slit and withdraws said conductor passing through said slit from said envelope and movement of said slider in the other direction, separates said walls of said slits and inserts said conductor passing through said aperture into said envelope.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,647,160 7/1953 Hood 17498 3,262,448 7/1966 Ring et al. 128214.4

FOREIGN PATENTS 664,924 6/1963 Canada. 763,660 12/1956 Great Britain.

LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner. 

